Kate narrowed her eyes at him. “If you tell your mother any of this—” She didn’t finish her threat.
He stood up. “Okay. Got it. I’m to stay here and try to prove that my dad murdered someone and got away with it.”
“And your mother may have killed a man and left him lying on the nursery floor,” Kate said.
“And if she did, your bio dad must have helped her,” Sara said happily.
“You two have a dark sense of humor,” he said firmly.
The women laughed as they left.
Seventeen
As soon as they were out of Billy’s room, Sara texted Lenny to ask him if he would have tea set up in the nursery.And if you see Rachel, please invite her. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.It hadn’t been easy to get Lenny to use a phone. He had an obsession with privacy and no one knowing anything about him. “I doubt if Lenny is his real name,” Randal had said.
Kate drove Sara’s MINI to Bessie’s and they went in to pick up two bags of scones. One contained wheat flour pastries, and the other was made with almond flour for Sara’s low-carb diet.
“What do you hope to get out of her?” Kate asked when they were back in the car.
“What was she doing with your hedgehog? Did she stuff it full of jewels?”
“Then jam it into Derek’s skull?” Kate said. “Maybe the real question is if she sawed his head in half.”
“After bashing him, that is. That shows some serious anger—and violence.”
“If she and Reid were lovers, maybe they did it together,” Kate said.
“That would be ironic,” Sara said. “Derek Oliver knew that Reid was the owner of the property. His death kept that from being known. Poor Reid was cheated out of his inheritance.”
“So what was the motive?”
Sara shrugged. “The man was a jerk. Maybe he said something that put someone in a rage. Grab something hard and smack him over the head. The end.”
“I can believe that. It’s the sawing that stumps me. What in the world did the killer do with the brain?”
“Put it in a jar as a trophy?” Sara said. “Slice it up and study it? See what makes a person so vile that everyone who meets him wants to kill him?”
Kate pulled into the driveway of Lachlan House, turned off the engine, and looked at Sara. “Again, what do you hope to get out of Rachel?”
“I’m leaning toward asking about Greer. I’m hearing her name too many times.”
Kate tightened her lips. “I liked her.”
“You were four. Four-year-olds like anyone who offers them a puppy and candy.”
Kate didn’t soften. “Promise me that you’ll be nice. Don’t go in there with your mind made up.”
“Okay. I swear it. I’ll clear my mind. I’ll forget seeing her slap Reid, then kiss him. I’ll not remember how she’s betrayed our dear Gil. I’ll—”
Kate groaned. “I’m going to switch scones, and you’ll eat carbs. Lots and lots of carbs!” She got out of the car.
“You’re too cruel,” Sara said, laughing.
Rachel was standing by the door of the nursery when Sara got there. “Hello,” she said. “Lenny told me I was invited to tea.”
“Yes.” Sara didn’t like how curt she sounded. She wasn’t going to get any information if she started out hostile. She opened the door and went inside. Lenny got someone—probably Dora—to set up a lovely spread. A small round table was covered with a lace cloth and the yellow-trimmed dinnerware gleamed prettily.
“This is lovely,” Rachel said. “How very kind of you.” She politely waited until Sara was seated before taking the other chair.
